AVONDALE, La. (AP) - A Japanese company has broken ground for a $70 million vegetable oil plant in the New Orleans area.

A news release Friday from the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission says Fuji Vegetable Oil Inc. plans to process palm oil, palm kernel oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil in Jefferson Parish. The complex will also include storage and distribution facilities.

The project is expected to create 39 jobs with an average annual salary of $77,000. Fuji expects to begin hiring in late 2019, and the plant is expected to be complete in June 2020.

Fuji Vegetable Oil Inc. is the U.S. arm of Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. of Osaka, Japan. The U.S. subsidiary was founded in 1987 in Savannah, Georgia, where its other plant is located.